Dane County Jail, WI

Dane County Jail visitation is primarily non-contact, and you must schedule through the GTL VisitMe site at least 48 hours before your appointment. VisitMe requires you to sign in and includes registration tools plus a VisBridge desktop option for video visiting. Residents can have two 45-minute visits per week, with non-contact visits offered during specific weekday evening windows. All non-attorney visits are electronically recorded and monitored—attorney visits with proper registration are not. Expect screening on entry, and store personal items in lobby lockers. Passing items is not allowed, and anyone under a no-contact restriction will be denied. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID or passport. Professional visitors also need credentials and must email the sheriff's office at least 24 hours ahead to request a conference room appointment.

Dane County Jail uses GettingOut/GTL for remote video visits. Create a visitor account at www.gettingout.com and schedule your first visit before trying to join. Remote visits cost $0.25 per minute. Visiting from a desktop? Sign in at least 10 minutes before your appointment and run the Internet Visit Tester to download and launch the VisBridge application. GTL VisitMe handles scheduling, account management, and VisBridge downloads. Attorneys should set up a gettingout.com account, schedule their first visit, then email GTLonsiterep@danesheriff.com to request that monitoring be disabled for attorney-client communications. Video and other third-party communications go through vendors and are monitored or screened.

Send mail to Dane County Jail at 115 West Doty Street, Madison, WI 53703. Include the resident's full name and resident/booking number on every item. Allowed items include personal letters, original artwork in pencil or ink, single-layer greeting cards, personal photographs (with some exceptions), and cash or money orders per facility guidelines. Polaroid photos are not accepted. Size matters: anything larger than 10×13×1 inches gets returned to sender, and books that can't be returned may be donated to the jail library. Staff will remove any adhesive materials—postage stamps, return labels, stickers—from incoming mail. Mail is commonly inspected, and legal or medical correspondence may follow special handling procedures.

Dane County Jail uses GTL AdvancePay for inmate funds. You can add money through the ConnectNetwork website or app, by phone, at GTL kiosks, via Western Union, or by mailing a check or money order to GTL's AdvancePay PO Box. GTL accepts Visa and Mastercard credit, debit, and prepaid cards. Card deposits typically post almost immediately—helpful when you need to fund commissary quickly. One thing to watch: AdvancePay accounts can become inactive and subject to forfeiture after 180 consecutive days without activity. Refunds require calling the vendor's refund number. Have the inmate's full name and ID ready before you start, and use money orders or cashier's checks if mailing funds.